AS102 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Radio Wave, Accretion Disk, Sagittarius A*
Document Summary
This picture (below) is a radio wave image of a closer view of the very central part of our galaxy. Study the two-page spread at the end of chapter 9 and you will learn a lot about the centre of our galaxy. The actual galactic centre is likely a massive black hole; studies show that it is very crowded with lots of stars, dust, supernovae remnants, and much radiation. Recent measurements support the suspicion that the actual centre of the milky way galaxy is a black hole having a mass of several million solar masses! The centre of our galaxy contains a black hole with a mass of 3 or 4 million suns. Our black hole appears to be slightly different than other black holes that we have observed elsewhere. Most black holes have an accretion disk of matter around them and, as the matter is pulled into the hole, a constant stream of.
